Not sure he's entirely distancing us from it, unless there's been something on radio I don't know about. Per the FC app:
"There is a lot of talk about a number of players and I’ve had a host of players thrown up to me in interviews in recent days from the media and supporters, but a lot of it is far wide of the mark, especially with these guys under contract or already planning on moves to other clubs," he said.
"If a player is available and fits our criteria then we’ll have a look. Both Peter and myself have already suggested we’re in the market for another pivot but the market it tough out there at the moment so we’ll bide our time.
"With the option of moving Richard Horne to full back we might look at the possibility of bringing in a half back, but I think people need to understand that the increasing value of players is making that more difficult than ever."
That's a no comment rather than a denial, and I don't know whether I'm reading too much into it but it also reads to me like it is tentatively readying us for a fullback instead of a halfback now. He's saying we're after a pivot that
might be a halfback, with Horne to fullback a possibility, not the definite plan Gentle was previously saying. The comment on the difficulty in particular makes me think we're struggling to get a 6.